A DalyDose of..Break Up???

We’ve all been a part of a relationship that felt a bit strained.
We’ve all stayed in relationships way past expiration.
We’ve all felt the need to break up.

I’m at a crossroads and not sure whether I should end my relationship…with my soccer team.

It started out so great. We were supposed to be a simple and humble “beer drinking team with a soccer problem”. We were named the “Mutt Sluts” in a play on the name of our captain’s business, the Mutt Hutt. We had OB’s Bar & Grill, as our sponsor. It was great! I don’t mind telling you that we are always the best looking team, even when we don’t win.

What happened???

We now have a team that has forgotten that we’re here for fun. We have self-appointed coaches and talent evaluators that think they know how to “win” and are starting to take the whole thing…and themselves…a bit too seriously.

It’s not fun anymore!!

Yesterday was out last regular season game. We were holding up pretty well, but had fallen into out usual hole. We were losing and I somehow got stuck playing defense again. When that happens I usually make a run or two per game. I like to take off with the ball and see what happens. It’s fun and I get to run until I can’t run no more. So I pulled one on these runs out yesterday and one of my teammates came all the way back to yell at me. The good part was that he actually saw what the defending side of the field looked like. The bad part was that he was yelling and cursing me out to “pass the f*@kin ball…it’s a team sport”. I responded with an equally discourteous response and we let it go…until halftime. Then this other teammate of mine chimed in with condescending co-signature “seriously dude”. Not even worth a response….seriously, dude.

I let it all go until halftime when it came up again and I informed teammate #1 not to talk to me like that ever again. It went back and forth with verbal “puff-uppery” and the scene had that vibe that I’ve felt every time I’ve ever been in a fight. Seriously, was I about to get into a fight in a soccer game, with my own team? Not cool. I refrained from communicating with either party for the rest of the game and skipped out on the post-game beer at OB’s.

Is it over?

Well, this was the last game of our regular season and we have a playoff game next week. I’ll show up and play. If I end up one of the only ones to spend time playing defense, I’ll likely take off on another run. Who knows how it will be taken, but I’m always gonna be me.

I guess I need to decide if it’s worth driving out to Manhattan Beach, if it’s not going to be fun anymore. If I want to be a part of a collection of over-competitive egos, I’ll join a full field, 11 v 11, men’s team. I wanted to drink beer, make new friends, meet girls, have fun and play a little ball. I’ve met some great people and had some fun. I just don’t know if my relationship with this soccer team is past its expiration.